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Canada has a strong food safety system founded on sound science and aligned with international standards.

The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Canada provides national leadership to ensure that Canada's animal and veterinary public health infrastructure is positioned to effectively manage current and emerging disease threats in order to protect animal and human health.

The Chief Food Safety Officer (CFSO) for Canada plays a key role in the development of policies, regulations and program design related to preventing and responding to food safety risks.

The Chief Plant Health Officer (CPHO) for Canada plays a key leadership role in the policies related to plant health in Canada at the domestic and international level.

The Chief Science Operating Officer is responsible for providing strategic leadership and ensuring sound management of CFIA's 13 laboratories in order to deliver the Agency's high-priority science needs in food safety, animal health and plant health.

Chief Veterinary Officer / Delegate to the World Organisation for Animal Health

Dr. Komal graduated from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire at the Université de Montréal in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a post-graduate degree in Veterinary Microbiology. He began his veterinary career specializing in small animals in a practice in the Eastern Townships of the province of Quebec.

In 1994, Dr. Komal joined the CFIA as a Veterinary Inspector as well as a Laboratory Supervisor in the provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. In 2000, Dr. Komal and his family moved to Ottawa where he held various positions of increasing responsibility within the CFIA and other departments such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Health Canada. Most recently, he worked as the Director General of the Strategic Directions Directorate of the Science and Technology Branch and as the Director General of the Operations and Emergency Management Directorate with the Market and Industry Services Branch, both within AAFC.

As the CVO and the OIE Delegate, Dr. Komal leads Canada's efforts to effectively manage current and emerging disease threats in order to protect animal and human health, and to maintain international trust in Canada's inspection and certification systems in support of market access.

As the OIE Delegate, Dr. Komal represents Canada on the international stage, and plays an integral role in Canada's participation in the OIE's standard setting process for the development and adoption of animal health standards and guidelines. It is his role to ensure that the standards are appropriately and consistently implemented in Canada, and he is responsible for notifying the OIE of reportable animal disease occurrences in Canada.

Chief Food Safety Officer for Canada

Lyzette Lamondin

Lyzette Lamondin has been the Executive Director of the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division since December 2017. She has held various positions within the Agency, including Executive Director of the Food Import, Export and Consumer Protection Division, and Director of the Agri-Food Program. In 2015 and 2017, Ms. Lamondin had the honour of Chairing the Codex Committee on Food Labelling.

Ms. Lamondin led the initial development, drafting and engagement for the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations from 2013 to 2015. In 2017, she returned to the Food Program for the final publication and implementation of the regulations.

In 2017, Ms. Lamondin was asked to take on the additional role of Chief Food Safety Officer of Canada. The Chief Food Safety Officer plays a key role in the development of policies, regulations and program design related to preventing and responding to food safety risks.

Chief Plant Health Officer

Dr. William Anderson

Dr. William Anderson is the Executive Director of the Plant Health and Biosecurity Directorate in the Policy and Programs Branch at the CFIA. He received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry in 1993 from the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. After working as a Research Associate at the National Research Council’s Plant Biotech Institute in Saskatoon, he left the laboratory setting to work in the ag-biotech private sector. Dr. Anderson joined the CFIA in 2002 and has held various management positions working on programs and policies related to plant health, animal health and food safety, including substantive acting roles as Associate Vice-President and Chief Science Operating Officer in the Science Branch.

As Chief Plant Health Officer, Dr. Anderson provides leadership in strengthening plant health systems through fostering communication and partnerships among federal, provincial and territorial governments, industry, academia and other stakeholders with a role in plant health. Dr. Anderson is responsible for domestic, import and export policies related to the sector, including the protection of plants, crops and forests from regulated pests and diseases.

Dr. Anderson is also the CFIA's lead plant protection representative internationally. This work involves bilateral negotiations with key trading partners to improve market access opportunities, and representing Canada at the International Plant Protection Convention, the North American Plant Protection Organization and other international venues.

Chief Science Operating Officer

Dr. Primal Silva

Dr. Primal Silva is a veterinarian and a Ph.D. scientist with several years of postdoctoral training. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, Australia, and furthered his studies at McMaster University and at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. He worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph before joining the federal public service in 1993. He has since held several positions with increasing responsibilities, including Executive Director of the Animal Health Science Directorate and, currently, Chief Science Operating Officer at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

As Chief Science Operating Officer, Dr. Silva has management accountability for all of the Agency's 13 laboratories in order to deliver on the Agency's high-priority science needs in food safety, animal health and plant health. He provides management oversight of the daily operations of the laboratory services and the Agency's research, as well as strategic leadership in science engagements with academic, federal, provincial and territorial stakeholders. He is also the Science Integrity Lead responsible for promoting high scientific and ethical standards to ensure the foundational principles of scientific integrity are upheld throughout the Agency. Dr. Silva represents the CFIA on numerous interdepartmental initiatives to promote regulatory science needs across the Government of Canada, including collaborative programs and federal infrastructure.

Dr. Silva actively promotes Canada's global leadership in regulatory science through strategic partnerships and involvement with a variety of international bodies. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), co-chair of the Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network (BSL4ZNet) and Canadian representative on the Global Coalition of Regulatory Science Research (GCRSR).